How to visualize your next (or first) mobile app

Not everyone is born with the mind of an app designer. I mean, until a few years ago, most of us didn’t even know what a mobile app was. It’s crazy to imagine, but in just 8 short years we’ve gone from flip-phones to full-blown computers in our pockets. From downloading software onto our PC’s from a CD to wirelessly downloading onto our cell-phones from satellites (which is basically magic).

So how do you get around to making your own app? Nowadays, mobile apps are easy to make. Simple apps can be put together in what is known as a “mobile app builder”, many of which can be found online. These mobile app builders have a few advantages have over traditional programming:

Advanced features are just as easy to add as basic features

Mobile app builders can push updates quickly

Anybody with a vision for an app can make one

It’s actually pretty fun.

Snappii has been in the business for a long time, and has used their experience to leverage new technology for their users. Using an “app template”, users can see what the most commonly used features are per industry to give them an idea of how to make their app. Check some of Snappii’s templates out here if you want to get started right away.

However, if you want to plan your entrance into the mobile app industry a bit better, here’s some tips from an app designer in a mobile app building company:

Use as many apps as you can

Creativity is bred from inspiration. The best way to inspire yourself to build an app, is to see what makes apps so great in the first place!

Everyone has different needs, and works in different industries. Call me old-fashioned, but the easiest way for me to see what exactly what a business needs is to write down your operations on a piece of paper. Everything from the inception of the product, to its deployment should be noted. This allows you to see your business at a glance, and will allow you to see where certain aspects can use help. Taking a second to find out which features are necessary, and which would just be a bonus, can help spread some of the cost of the finished product. It also encourages building a simple app while you learn the mobile-app-ropes.

The next part is to identify where there are points of resistance in your process. You’ll know better than anyone where those are, which is another benefit to building your own mobile business app. There may be some cases where mobile software cannot help you, but there are a lot of places where they might!

The best bet is to try and identify these choke-points yourself, and then give a mobile app builder a call (Snappii has free consultations for first-time users) and see what is possible and what isn’t. Consultants are constantly ready with open-ears. Since Snappii is constantly learning, if we don’t have a feature you’d like to see, you can bet we’re taking down notes to add it in the future.

The Color Scheme and beyond

The more preparation the better!

It may seem obvious, but a surprising amount of users neglect to think about the color scheme of their app. It goes without saying that this should reflect the colors of your business, ESPECIALLY if it’s a public app.

Thinking about the color scheme might get your cogs turning for an overall design for your app. Do you want to have side navigation, or a more old-school bottom navigation approach? What is the first thing a user should see when they open your app? Using other apps also helps with design, but you never want to take too much of someone’s idea. The good part about app builders like Snappii is that updates cost little to nothing after the upfront cost. This means you can experiment and see which set of features works better for your business without having to rehire programmers and coders for every little change.

Fun Fact – Updating an app built from the ground-up is a lot of work since programmers have to go back and restructure the code. But, in a mobile app builder, updates are just as easy as the initial creation!

Get to know the editor

A worker is only as good as the tool their using. The better you know the online app builder you’re using, the more likely you’ll succeed in making your dream app. There’s a lot of features that are available right now for mobile apps such as:

Geo-tracking

Product catalogs

Inventory management systems

Punch-cards and loyalty coupons

Employee timesheets

Mobile forms

And so much more!

The best way to learn is by doing, so get in there and play with an app builder!

Because the mobile app industry has become a staple for so many businesses, there are a lot of competitors on the market all offering varying styles of apps. Last week, I made a blog that gave a rundown on the top 5 app builders on the market. Check it out!

Most mobile app editors will have some sort of tutorial to engage the user on their first arrival. Given that most mobile app builders will be users that have never made an app before, a well-thought out introduction to the platform is necessary for a lot of these companies. Snappii provides their users with forums, FAQ’s and on-screen messages that will help to better understand the platform. Free live chat is also available from directly inside the editor, 24/7. And if all else fails, Snappii provides a free consultation to first time users – give them a call and fire away those questions!

If you’re interested in building a mobile app for your business, or even just for fun, check out Snappii’s free trial today and find out why it’s one of the most talked about app builders on the market.